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Champion
Chapter.]] A Company Champion is a consummate Space Marine warrior who is charged with defending the honour of his company, his Chapter and the Emperor of Mankind Himself. Usually the company's finest swordsman, a Company Champion engages the warlords and champions of the foe in single combat, leaving the company Captain free to conduct the wider battle, rather than engage in a series of personal combats. Company Champions serve key roles in the rituals and ceremonies of their Chapter, representing their Battle-Brothers in rites, rituals and mysterie just as they do in war. A Chapter Champion is the most skilled fighter of an Adeptus Astartes Chapter's Honour Guard. Wielding an energised blade in each hand, this superlative duellist is ready to challenge any enemy leader to single combat in his commander's stead, and all his training is bent to this goal. Such a singular display of martial superiority and devotion has been the salvation of more than one Chapter Master's life and turned the tide of countless battles. History It is believed that the first Company Champions were to be found in the ranks of the Space Marine Legions as they fought in the Emperor's Great Crusade during the late 30th Millennium. Although most records from this time were lost during the dark days of the Horus Heresy and the strife that followed, there are fragmentary reports of heroes armed with shining blades and clad in the mightiest suits of Power Armour who protected their liege lords, the Primarchs and Praetors of the Legions, on the field of battle. What is known is that when the Ultramarines Primarch, Roboute Guilliman, came to break up the Legions and wrote the Codex Astartes in the early 31st Millennium –- the tenets of which still guide the organisation of the Adeptus Astartes ten millennia later – Company Champions were firmly established as part of every Chapter's structure. It is likely, given the great emphasis placed on personal honour within the Realm of Ultramar, that the concept of champions who protect the Masters of the Chapter originated within the XIII Legion, though none now can say for sure. Role Champions at War Company Champion leads a Command Squad in battle.]] When Company Champions take to the battlefield, it is as part of a Command Squad, assigned to accompany a great hero of the Chapter. Most commonly, the Champion –- along with several other Veteran Battle-Brothers -- will fight alongside his company Captain, but he can also be seconded to the service of his company Chaplain or a member of the Librarius. The champion's role within the Command Squad is threefold. Firstly, and most obviously, he is an avatar of war, bringing death to the foe with blade and bolt. Often, his commander will need to focus on the wider battle, manoeuvring forces to achieve victory, and the Company Champion will be tasked with his protection, ensuring that any enemy who seeks to harm the Captain, Librarian or Chaplain meets their end, spitted on an energy-wreathed sword. The Company Champion also acts as counsellor to his commander. While his focus is on martial skill and strength of arms, the Champion's insight is often invaluable, giving his commander a different perspective on the unfolding events on the battlefield. The Champion's knowledge of martial styles can often inspire interesting tactical options that a Captain or Chaplain may not have considered. The third -- and arguably most important -- role of a Company Champion in war is to act as his commander's second. While they are technically outside the chain of command and outranked by Lieutenants and Sergeants, Company Champions are veterans of hundreds of battles and have often served at the side of their Captain for longer than any other Astartes. Should they fail in their duty to protect their commander, a Company Champion will often be looked to to provide leadership and ensure that the Captain's plan is carried out, his duty completed. This is a great burden, for should the battle be lost, the Champion will have failed twice, both to protect his liege and to fulfil his fallen commander’s duty – dishonouring them both. Few Company Champions have ever failed in this way, and those who have often choose to stand down from their position and take up the role of a penitent in whatever way their Chapter Master sees fit, be it returning to the ranks as a simple Battle-Brother, or embarking upon a dangerous and almost certainly suicidal mission in an attempt to redeem their honour. Ceremonial Duties All Space Marine Chapters have ceremonies and traditions that go back terran centuries or millennia to their Founding. These are often accompanied by rites and rituals in which the Chapter's Chaplains lead the Battle-Brothers. There are as many different such traditions as there are Space Marine Chapters, and they will usually revolve around significant events -- the recruitment of new warriors for the Chapter, movement between companies or promotions to higher ranks. Among the duties of Company Champions is the representation of their own company during such rituals where multiple companies are involved. For example, the Crimson Fists have a ceremonial blooding for any warrior who moves from one company to another, where the Champions of both the Battle-Brother's old and new companies perform a mock combat, with ritual steps that represent an honour-duel that Rogal Dorn is said to have performed with each of the Imperial Fists Legion Captains who left to command new Chapters in the Second Founding. One of the better-known ceremonial duties for Champions from many Imperial Fists Successor Chapters is to represent their brothers at the Feast of Blades, a great ritual combat that takes place at least once a Terran century. Each of the Chapters formed from Dorn's bloodline nominates a champion, usually chosen from amongst the Company Champions, competing for glory and the right to host the next Feast. It is a great honour to be chosen to represent the Chapter, and those who are frequently find that their Chapter Master has an eye on them for promotion in the near future. Selection Honoured Brother Gaius Prabian, Company Champion of the 2nd Company and member of its Command Squad, the "Lions of Macragge," armed with Combat Shield and Power Sword.]] The Champion of each company is chosen very carefully, for his skill in battle may be the difference between life and death for his Captain, and therefore between victory or defeat in battle. Company Champions are rarely warriors of rank; those with the skill to command their fellow Space Marines in battle are better utilised as squad Sergeants or Captains. Instead, Champions are chosen for their skill at arms. By the strictures laid down in the Codex Astartes, it takes an act of great personal valour for a Space Marine to be considered for the role of Company Champion, as well as a demonstrated record of humility where others strive for personal glory. Such warriors must always keep the safety of their commander uppermost in their mind, even as they match blades with the deadliest of foes. Different Chapters, however, choose their Champions in different ways. The Silver Skulls cleave strongly to the visions of their Prognosticars, who see those marked for greatness and sequester them away to be trained in the arts of duelling until their very body is a weapon, every instinct honed to a razor edge. The Imperial Fists and many of their Successor Chapters hold great tournaments whenever a Company Champion dies, where any warrior of the company may compete to take up the mantle of the fallen hero and represent their Captain. Few sons of Rogal Dorn can resist such an opportunity, and many friendly grudges result from these tournaments, spurring unsuccessful Battle-Brothers on to ever greater feats of valour on the field of battle. It is even whispered that among the Mortifactors, the warrior who hunts and slays the killer of a former Company Champion and takes the foe's skull will be named as the new Champion. It is said that such hunts have taken Battle-Brothers of the Mortifactors as far afield as the hidden city of the piratical Drukhari and into the depths of the Eye of Terror itself. It is true that when the Mortificators march to war, their Captains often go unaccompanied by a Champion, lending credence to such wild-seeming rumours. Wargear Power Weapons Company Champions must always be prepared to engage their foes in single combat, and so are typically equipped with some of the finest arms and Power Armour to be found in the Chapter vaults. The primary close combat weapon for many Company Champions is a master-crafted Power Sword, accompanied by a Bolt Pistol for ranged combat and Frag and Krak Grenades, though this is by no means universal. The Champions of the Stone Hearts Chapter, for example, are known to have a preference for heavy maces or mauls, reflecting the culture of their homeworld, where such weapons, crafted from stone and hardened wood, are used in ritual combats to decide the hierarchy of local clans. When these bludgeons are recreated in adamantium and equipped with energy fields, they are vicious weapons, capable of knocking an enemy’s head from his shoulders or crashing through armour plate. The Clan-Champions of the Storm Lords, on the other hand, have been seen to emulate their progenitors in the White Scars Chapter by making use of long, diamond-tipped lances wreathed in shimmering energy fields, preferring to destroy their target with a single decisive strike, though these warriors keep powered tulwars as secondary weapons for the rare occasions when an enemy survives their initial attack. Even amongst those Champions who make use of swords, there is near-infinite variety. From nimble duelling rapiers to heavy-bladed claymores, there is no type of blade wielded by human hands that has not been used by a Company Champion somewhere in the Imperium. Each Champion strives to completely master his chosen fighting style, training with his blade and shield to the exclusion of all else, the better to defend his Captain and uphold the honour of his Chapter. When different Chapters come together in a theatre of war, it is common for Company Champions from the forces involved to come together to fight duels and learn from each others' fighting styles and preferences. Many weapons and combat styles that originate from one world have spread across the Imperium in this way, and it is not uncommon for Chapters that have never fought alongside one another before to find that their Company Champions have surprisingly similar methods of waging war. Combat Shields Regardless of their preferred weaponry, Company Champions are trained duellists and make use of many techniques handed down by skilled combatants since time immemorial, and codified in Roboute Guilliman's great work. Their role as defender of their Captain, as well as a hunter-killer, means that they often carry a Combat Shield to accompany their blade. Small bucklers that are typically affixed to the forearm, Combat Shields are equipped with a less powerful version of the energy field found in the Storm Shields of Terminators, and Company Champions train tirelessly to make best use of this extra defence. The Codex Astartes outlines three main uses for a Combat Shield in a duel: Firstly,the shield can be used to deflect blows. The Combat Shield's small size and energy field make its primary purpose to intercept and parry an enemy's strike, allowing the Company Champion to deliver a riposte. Second, the shield can hide and protect the sword hand. By angling his Combat Shield correctly, the Company Champion can both protect his sword hand from enemy blows and hide it from their view, allowing him the element of surprise as the foe struggles to anticipate his next strike. Whilst a few Chapters -- typically those whose view of war is more brutal and straightforward -- eschew this style of fighting, seeing it as dishonourable, most Company Champions are happy to have this technique in their arsenal. Finally, the Combat Shield can be used by the Astartes to direct attacks. While not nearly as effective as a blade or a Bolter, a strong strike with a Combat Shield at the right moment can knock an opponent off-balance, or even more if the power field makes contact with bare flesh. Many an overeager enemy has found themselves at the mercy of a Company Champion after being felled by an unexpected jolt of energy from a Combat Shield. Many other techniques have been developed over the ages by particularly inventive or daring Champions. Whilst many of these remain in use within just one Chapter, handed down from weapons-master to warrior across generations, many have spread across Chapters that have fought in the same war zones, and some have even made it back to Macragge, there to be enshrined in the addenda to the Codex Astartes, held within the Library of Ptolemy. Company Champion A Company Champion wields the following wargear as standard: *'Curadh Pattern Artificer Armour' *'Bolt Pistol' *'Master-Crafted Power Sword' *'Combat Shield' *'Frag Grenades' *'Krak Grenades' Chapter Champion A Chapter Champion wields the following wargear as standard: *'Artificer Armour' *'Champion's Blade' *'Power Sword' *'Frag Grenades' *'Krak Grenades' Armour Veteran Sergeant and Company Champion wearing Curadh Pattern variant Artificer Armour]] While many suits of Space Marine Power Armour are as old as the Imperium itself, handed down from Battle-Brother to Battle-Brother, repaired and refitted a hundred times or more, Company Champions are given a unique honour. Upon ascension to the role, a newly-appointed Champion has a bespoke suit of armour crafted for them. When a Champion eventually falls, should his body and armour be recovered, it is preserved and displayed with great honour in the Chapter reliquaries, every plate of the armour etched in remembrance of the hero's many victories. Thus are the deeds of each and every Company Champion commemorated for all time. The standard pattern of Champion armour -- known informally as Curadh Pattern variant armour, after a title for heroes in ancient Terran -- is laid down in the Codex Astartes. Based loosely upon the design of the Mark VII Aquila Pattern battle-plate, the Curadh Pattern variant comes with additional reinforcement upon the shoulder guards, designed both to display the many badges of honour a Company Champion is entitled to wear and to provide greater protection. A similarly reinforced breastplate is often emblazoned with a winged shield. Uniquely amongst his Battle-Brothers, a Company Champion is entitled to bear personal heraldry. Many choose not to, but some commemorate particularly notable feats of valour by adding them to the shield upon their chests. Amongst the Ultramarines, it is also common for Champions of noble Ultramarran birth to display all or part of their family heraldry on their chest plate. The helms worn by Company Champions are often designed to echo knightly helms of old, as seen in fragments of ancient tapestries and the tattered remnants of illuminated manuscripts. While little is remembered from these long-lost times, it is known that medieval knights from Terra's ancient past were chivalrous individuals dedicated to the defence of the innocent -- ideals that Company Champions are seen to represent. Chapter Variant Titles for Company Champion Company Champions of Renown *'Clan Champion Oros Telemar' - Oros Telemar was a Clan Champion of the Iron Hands Chapter. In 237.M38, Clan Garrsak of the Iron Hands was deployed to the Herevok Sector to help put down an insurgency that had gripped more than twenty worlds. Upon their arrival, they discovered that the rebels were, in fact, Chaos-tainted Heretics, aided by Traitor Marines from the Emperor's Children Legion of old. The Iron Hands fell upon their ancient foes with relish, cleansing them from world after world in the name of Ferrus Manus, slain in a bygone age by the Emperor's Children Primarch Fulgrim in an act of fratricide which changed history. Taking a handful of Space Marines with him, Telemar crossed the sector in pursuit of his quarry, eventually chasing him down to an airless asteroid on the outskirts of a long-abandoned planetary system. There, Telemar and his men engaged Lucius the Eternal, the Chaos-corrupted swordsman and Champion of Slaanesh. Eventually, Telemar prevailed, striking the Traitor down and taking his sabre and whip to display as trophies of victory on the Iron Hands homeworld. When he returned to the clan, the war was over, and the Iron Hands departed for Medusa. When their ship arrived in orbit around the Iron Hands homeworld, the vessel was silent, refusing to answer hails or follow recognised approach vectors. Ship's logs revealed much to the Iron Hands' horror that Telemar had begun to change, ritually scarring himself and repainting his armour in wild and sickening colours. Eventually, his will had snapped and he had rampaged through the ship, killing all the crew and passengers with the weapons claimed from the Traitor, before entering a saviour pod and disappearing into the depths of the Immaterium. To this day, none are sure exactly how this happened, though this is well, as to try and explain the methods of Chaos is to invite madness. Later sightings of Lucius in war zones across the Imperium and beyond have only added to this mystery. *'Company Champion Brayden' - In the years before the fall of their homeworld of Ogrys, the Invaders underwent many trials. Their most notable feat was a daring assault upon the Eldar Craftworld of Idharae in 852.M41. The entire Chapter gathered to leave the Craftworld a floating wreck, and many valorous deeds were performed in Idharae's domes and tunnels. The 1st Company, under the command of Captain Ravinger, deployed en masse, teleporting into the centre of the Craftworld and laying waste to all around them. As the Eldar reacted and more forces were drawn from the periphery of Idharae to deal with this immense threat, the Terminator-armoured Veterans of the 1st Company found themselves fighting back to back, Storm Bolters and Assault Cannons running hot; Power Fists and Lightning Claws reaping a fearsome tally of Eldar warriors. In the midst of the battle, Captain Ravinger fell, his hearts pierced by the blade of a mighty Wraithlord ghost-construct. With victory in the balance, his Champion, Brayden, rallied the company around the ancient and proud banner of the 1st Company and stood over the body of his lord. No count exists of how many foes Brayden slew in the hours that followed, but all who saw his deeds attested that he fought with the valour of Rogal Dorn himself. When the battle was won and the Masters of the Chapter convened to decide who would succeed Ravinger as the First Captain, Brayden was unanimously nominated. Stepping forward under the gazes of the great and good of the Invaders, he humbly declined the honour, declaring that he was a warrior and a servant, not a leader, and that another would be better placed to command the company, another whom he would pledge to protect unto death. He nominated a Sergeant of the company and stepped back into the shadows, content that his duty would continue. *'Company Champion Cadulon' - Cadulon is a name celebrated in the annals of the Iron Knights Space Marines and revered by every Chapter that sends warriors to the ritual Feast of Blades. Known to his brothers and rivals alike as the "Saint of Blades" for his skill at arms, Cadulon rose to the position of Company Champion when his predecessor was killed by a Dark Eldar slaver-queen in battle on the world of Cystan. Over the centuries that followed, Cadulon became renowned for his swordsmanship, wielding an estoc with consummate ease. Three times Cadulon represented his Chapter at the Feast of Blades, the great competition between the Successor Chapters of the Imperial Fists Legion. On his first appearance, he won the contest, besting the chosen champions of eleven other Chapters. On his second, he was narrowly defeated by the Black Templars' representative, but he returned once again and claimed victory a second time, one of only a handful of Space Marines to do so. Eventually, Cadulon was promoted to the rank of Captain and served with distinction for nearly a century in command of the 4th Company until 226.M41, when he crossed blades with a Dark Eldar Archon on the world of Omeros. With his Command Squad and his own Company Champion kept busy by the twisted alien's minions, Cadulon found himself fighting single-handedly against the Archon and a dozen Incubi. Even the Saint of Blades could not hold out against so many skilled foes, and he was incapacitated. The last that any of the Iron Knights saw of Cadulon, he was being carried, still struggling against a dozen captors, into the writhing darkness of a Webway portal. His final fate remains unknown. *'Company Scourge Contego Micah' - Brother Micah, of the Excoriators Chapter, served as the 5th Company's Company Scourge (Company Champion). His predecessor had lost his life defending Corpus-Captain Thaddeus on the Kruger Ridge on the world of Veiglehaven from an ambush by Chaos Space Marines of the Alpha Legion. Micah was young for his position but a cool, impassive Excoriator. He was a gifted marksman and took the responsibilities of Company Champion seriously. Micah was just as unhappy about former Chapter Scourge Zachariah Kersh's promotion to Corpus-Captain over Veteran Whip (Sergeant) Skase, as were all the other Astartes in the 5th, but had studied his new commander's orders and their mission brief and had volunteered practical propositions regarding the company's security on Certus-Minor. Like many of his brothers, he was determined that the Excoriators would not fall to the predations of the Alpha Legion again -- even if that meant keeping Zachariah Kersh alive. Micah was killed defending the Imperial Cemetery World from the large Khornate Blood Crusade known as the Cholercaust. *'Company Champion Petronius Nero' - Petronius Nero serves as the current Company Champion of the Ultramarines 4th Company. He serves in Captain Uriel Ventris's elite Command Squad, "The Swords of Calth." *'Company Champion Gaius Prabian' - Gaius Prabian serves as the current Company Champion of the vaunted Ultramarines 2nd Company. He serves in Captain Cato Sicarius' elite Command Squad known as the "Lions of Macragge." *'Cato Sicarius' - Cato Sicarius is the current Captain of the Ultramarines 2nd Company. Before his meteoric rise within the ranks, he formerly served as the Company Champion of the lauded 2nd Company, known as the "Guardians of the Temple," which is the most famous and honoured Battle Company of the Ultramarines Chapter. *'Company Champion Tolemion' - Tolemion was a Company Champion of the Genesis Chapter. A formidable warrior who was zealously loyal to the Emperor, he took part in the assault conducted by his Chapter on Tsagualsa against the treacherous Night Lords warband of the Chaos Champion Talos Valcoran. Wielding his mighty Thunder Hammer he fought against the "Soul Hunter's" squad known as First Claw. Unfortunately he did not survive the encounter as he was impaled on Talos' Power Sword by the severely wounded Night Lord named Xarl. Tolemion praised the Emperor before being beheaded. However, Xarl died from blood loss from the wounds Telemion inflicted upon him soon after their confrontation. *'Wolf Guard Arjac Rockfist' - Arjac Rockfist, also known as "The Man-Mountain," "Grimnar's Champion" and the "Anvil of Fenris" is the personal Champion of the Great Wolf Logan Grimnar of the Space Wolves Chapter. Arjac was formerly a blacksmith of the Bear Claw tribe of Fenris, whose true skills lay not at the forge, but in the crucible of battle. His incredible strength and fortitude so impressed the Great Wolf that he was made Grimnar's personal Champion even before he was inducted into the Space Wolves as an Astartes and made the leader of Grimnar's Wolf Guard. *'Wolf Guard Mikal Sternmark' - Wolf Guard Champion to Wolf Lord Berek Thunderfist, Mikal had to take charge of the Thunderfist Great Company during the Charys Campaign. At the height of the fighting and the sorcerous influence of the Thousand Sons, Mikal succumbed to the call of the Wulfen and in a fit of rage slaughtered the Imperial General Lady Commander Athelstane. He was placed under the care of the Wolf Priests for some time, but returned to serve as Berek's Champion one last time in his final stand and died at the side of his Wolf Lord. Mikal wielded the relic Power Sword Redclaw. *'Wolf Guard Thorin Shieldsplitter' - Former Champion of the Thunderfist Company, the aging Thorin was replaced by the upcoming Mikal Sternmark but remained a loyal and dependable warrior. During the Charys Campaign it was Thorin who stood over the bier of the Wolf Lord Thunderfist with his two-handed Power Axe, prepared to defend the comatose Wolf Lord with his life if need be, and should he recognize death as imminent, his task was to trigger the Melta-charges planted within Berek's bier and make sure that the enemy would not get the chance to sully the body of the Wolf Lord. Sources *''Codex Adeptus Astartes - Space Marines'' (8th Edition), pp. 66-67, 152, 154 *''Codex: Grey Knights'' (5th Edition), pg. 26 *''Codex: Space Marines'' (8th Edition) (Revised Codex), pp. 63, 127 *''Codex: Space Marines'' (6th Edition), pg. 82 *''Codex: Space Wolves'' (5th Edition), pg. 51 *''Index Astartes: Company Champions'' (Digital Edition), pp. 3-4, 8-10, 13-16, 19-24, 26-28 *''Legion of the Damned'' (Novel) by Rob Sanders *''Void Stalker'' (Novel) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden *''Wolf's Honour'' (Novel) by Lee Lightner es:Campeón de la Compañía Category:C Category:Imperium Category:Primaris Space Marines Category:Space Marines